Weather Conditions and Simulation
Didn't realize how much I've neglected the microblog so much. Time flies, I suppose.
I was reading through r/OSR on Reddit, and I found someone talking about adapting a B2 Keep on the Borderlands to a tundra terrain, and it got me thinking. How does a hexcrawl work in the tundra?
As a DM, I have a strange proclivity in two semi-opposing directions: intuitiveness and simulation. I say "Semi" because they're not mutually exclusive. My favorite way of determining encumbrance, the "stone" method by Delta of Delta's Dnd Hotspot, sits in the middle between two extremes - pound or coin tracking, and the abstract nature of slots. In a collaborative game like D&D, it's important to keep things intuitive, because it makes things easier for not just the players, but the DM as well. If we have to check 18 different charts every time we make an attack, that's a bad thing.
However, I'm also in favor of some simulation elements, because they make the game world feel realistic. That's why I keep track of rations, arrows, etc. - because its meaningful when they're lacking.
So, with that being said, I think a hexcrawl in (or around) some kind of tundra or other extreme weather would be interesting. But in order to make it "fun," there needs to be a system to make the setting meaningful. I haven't thought enough about how to do this, but I'll update this when I have.
Cheers for now.